Electronic relay



June 22, 1943.

H. ZIEBOLZ ELECTRONIC RELA Y Filed April 22, 1942 Pctented `lune 22, 1943 ELECTRNIC RELAY Herbert itiebolz, Uhicago, Ill., assigner to Electronbeam, incorporated, Chicago, Ill., a corporation ci" Delaware application anular, loro, serial No. noms s claims. (ci. 25o-isi) rli'liis invention relates to electronic relays or the cathode ray tubs type.

In electronic relays or the cathode ray type, excessive deflection of the electron beam may' carry the beam beyond the outer edges ci the beam targets or anodes and result in improper operation of the relay. One object of the present invention is to provide interceptor plates within the relay tube for intercepting the electron beam when the beam is deflected through an angle sucient to carry it beyond the outer edge ci the anodes. These interceptor plates are connected to the anodes on the same side of the beam and thereiore `function as auxiliary anodes.

'l'iie invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure l is .a diagrammatic perspective view showing one construction or a cathode ray tube embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view ci the tube shown in Figure L the interceptor plates being shown in section along a horizontal plane; and

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view showing a cathode ray relay provided with a second pair or denector plates for neutralizing the denecting action of the nrst set or deectcr plates on the electron beam.

Referring to the drawing, the electron tube is provided with an insulating envelope t@ which encloses other elements of the tube. The internal construction of the tube may vary, but in the construction illustrated, a illament 2 l, heated from a suitable source of current, heats cathode iii to cause emission of electrons therefrom. These electrons are accelerated and focused into a beam by a concentrating and accelerating electrode which is maintained at a positive potential with respect to cathode 22 by a suitable Source of current represented by the battery 2li. The electron beam 25 is normally directed midway between a pair of anodes tt and il positioned in the opposite end of the tube. These anodes are connected through a pair of coupling resistances 2u and 29 to the positive terminal of a suitable source of current represented by the battery lit, the negative terminal oi which is connected 'to the positive terminal of source 2d. Suitable means are provided for deiiecting the beam it from its normal position to impinge in varying amounts upon anodes it and 2l. The deection of the beam is controlled in accordance with a signal or variation which is to be relayed or repeated or ampliled. The dellecting means may assume diderent forms as is well understood in the-art, but for the purpose of illustration, ll have shown a pair ci denecting plates ti and tu which are charged from the siunal source 3ft. lit will be understood that denection oi the beam by the potential variations in the source t3 will produce corresponding potential variations in the output circuit til connected across the two anodes it and ill.

As the electron beam is deflected from its normal position towards one of the anodes, the amount or current drawn by the anode from the source tu will increase with increasing deection oi1 the beam until the entire beam is impinged upon the anode. If the deflection increases so that part or the beam ialls beyond the outer edge oi the anode, the current will decreasel and il? the beam is'entirely deected beyond the outer edge of the anode, the anode current will tall to zero. For the purpose of preventing loss oi electrons from the beam passing beyond the outer edge oi the anodes, I provide two interceptor plates and arranged in a plane transversely or the electron beam and preferably adjacent the deecting means. These plates otre separated at their inner edges and are preferably cut away at the center of the inner edge to allow the electron beam to freely pass through the central opening when the beam is operating through a normal deflection range. Ii the deflection becomes encessive, a portion ci the beam is intercepted by the interceptor plate as shown in Figure 2 where a portion of the beam is being intercepted by the plate By properly locating the interceptor plates, no electrons are permitted to pass beyond the outer edges of the anodes it and il'. Furthermore, interceptor plate titi and tt are connected to the anodes on the same side oi the beam, that is, they are connected to anocles it and 2li respectively. These connections cause the interceptor plates to function as auxiliary anodes and prevent a decrease in anode current when the beam deection becomes excessive. lBy providing the interceptor plates as described above, it is possible to construct the cathode ray relay with relatively small anode plates and to thereby restrict the size of the tube and avoid improper operation by reason of excessive deiiection.

Since defiector plates 35 and 3ft are connected to the anodes tu and il, these plates will exert a certain deflection action on the electron beam in a negative direction with respect to the plates ill and t2. In case it is desired to eliminate this deilecting action of the interceptor plates, a second set of interceptor plates 35a and 36a, may be provided as shown in Figure 3 but connected to opposite anodes. The second set of plates 35a and 36a are arranged fairly close to plates 35 and 36 but are positioned so that they-do not intercept electrons from the electron beam, the interceptor action being preformed by plates 35 and 36.

In Figure 3 I have also illustrated a dierent construction for the anodes. Here the anodes, instead of being plate elements as show in Figures 1 and 2, are formed of cup-like elements with their open ends directed towards the cathode 22 and positioned so that as the beam is deflected towards one of the anodes, the electrons from the beam fall Within the inside of the cup. Ihis form of anode greatly reduces the interaction between the two anodes when the beam has sucient velocityto produce secondary emission from the anodes. The secondary emission and othersecondary eiiects remain substantially confined within the cup shapes and are not transmitted tb the adjacent anode.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the interceptor plates may have straight inner vedges instead of curved edges as shown in Figure 1, or it may have other shapes of edges. It is also obvious that the invention is not limited to the use of any particular deflecting means, and defiecting coils may be employed instead of defiecting plates 3i and 32. Y

The relay described herein is capable of a Wide variety of uses as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic translating device comprising, means for producing an electronic beam, a pair of main a-nodes mounted on opposite sides of the assauts path of said beam; means adjacent said path for deecting said beam relative to said anodes and being capable of deflecting said beam beyond the outer boundaries of said anodes, a pair of interceptor anodes positioned on opposite sides of said path in front of said main anodes to intercept said beam when deflected beyond the outer boundaries of said main anodes, and an electrical connection connecting each interceptor anode with the corresponding mai-n anode on the same side of the beam.

2. An electronic translating device according to claim 1 and including a. second pair of interceptor anodes positioned on opposite sides of said path to the rear of said rst pair of interceptor anodes, and a connection from each of said second interceptor anodes to the main anode on the opposite side of said beam, whereby said second pair of interceptor anodes counteracts the deflecting action of the first pair of interceptor anodes on said electronic beam.

3. An electronic translating device according to claim l and including a second pair of interceptor anodes positioned on opposite sides of said path to the rear of said first pair of interceptor anodes, and a connection from each of said second interceptor anodes to the main anode on the opposite side of said beam, said second pair of interceptor anodes being lshielded against interception of said beam by said first pair of interceptor anodes to counteract deflecting action of said rst pair of interceptor anodes on said electronic beam.

HERBERT ZIEBOLZ. 

